THE BARALONG INCIDENT.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume 8, Issue 34, 10 February 1916, Page 4

THE BARALONG INCIDENT.

The truth about the Baralong incident has been told, and, as might have been expected, the ravings of Hun pirates and murderers about British atrocity, piracy and murder have proved nothing more than wind-beat-ing. The commander of the submarine and his crew fell by the hands of a dozen American cattlemen who didn’t feel disposed to sit quietly while their ' peaceful ship was sent to the bottom, together with the cargo of mules they had aboard. There was something characteristic of the nature of their mules about these Yankee cattlemen, and neither the German uniforms or the torpedoes and guns of the submarine were going to deter them from taking a fighting chance for their lives and those of their mules. The Baralong had nothing to do with it i beyond tbe influence of her presence. The Huns were wiped out by the dozen cattlemen, who had armed themselves with fire bars from the engine room of their ship, and the submarine commander went to an ignominious death in the ocean with two fire bars tied to his feet. The cable states that these cattlemen were not of a breed that would lightly take a ccld-blocdod attempt to murder them sitting down. A. torpedo didn’t fright, en them; they would stand by the ship, and they refused to go into boats with the Captain and crew, who at that moment sighted the Baralong and at once rowed in her direction. The German saw that the Nicosian was badly hurt, so he saved his remaining torpedo for the new-comei. He sent a bombing party abo'ard the iNicosian where a nice little tragedy was prepared for thorn by the waiting cattleman, djs /the Germans clambered aboard with their bombs they got no mercy from the imuriated Cattlemen, and were soon within their power. The submarine commander not understanding what could he happening went to the Nicosian with an-

other boat load of his men, and met i with a similar reception, ending his career of murder by being given a bath in a few thousand fathoms of water with two ship’s fire bars tied to hi s feet. It is little wonder that Germany should have invented such a tissue of lying accusations against the captain of the Baralong to cover up the ignominious ending to one of her much boasted super-submarines, its German commander and German crew. A dozen righteously infuriated Yankee cattlemen wiped the -whole crew of murderers out of existence, the Baralong had nothing whatever to do with it other than what her presence influenced. It was all a tissue , of German lies about being fired on by the Baralong’s guns; about drowning Germans being made the sport of British gunners. It was all an invention to cover up the degrading fact that a submarine, commander and crew were completely subjugated by I a dozen Yankee cattlemen, armed j with fire bars. i